Program of Speakers

Research Day

JANUARY 26, 2025
SUNDAY, 12-4 pm

Everyone is invited to use all of the research assets of our Library from 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM.

  • We will be scanning Bibles and historical documents.
  • Bring in what you have and have it copied to digital media.
    Please bring a USB drive to make a copy of these scans.

 

GUESTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME AT OUR MEETINGS.

WEATHER RELATED CLOSINGS: VISIT THE → BCGS HOME PAGE.

For detailed directions and a map, select → PLANNING A VISIT.

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE ON MEETING DATES:

  • The LIBRARY is open from 12 – 2 pm.
  • The GENERAL MEETING followed by refreshments takes place from 2 – 3 pm.
  • THE GUEST SPEAKER PRESENTS FROM 3 – 4 pm.

 

INTEREST GROUPS MEET IN THE CORRIDOR OUTSIDE OF THE LIBRARY:

2 0 2 5

Maryland Immigration & Naturalization Resources
Debra A. Hoffman

FEBRUARY 23, SUNDAY, 3 pm

General Meeting: In Person
Presentation: In Person

  • The purpose of this lecture is to convey the importance of Maryland’s Port of Baltimore as a port of immigration, particularly for Germans entering the United States in the 1800s, many who took advantage of the combined ship and rail ticket to go West.
  • An overview of pertinent resources will be provided as well as providing coverage of useful Internet sites.

Debra A. Hoffman
Debra A. Hoffman, professional genealogist, author, and lecturer, specializes in Maryland and German research. She has a certificate in Family History from Brigham Young University and a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS)-German Records from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies. She coordinated “Maryland: Researching in the Old Line State” at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) in 2020 and co-authored NGS’ Research in the States Series: Maryland. She currently serves as an At-Large Board Member in the Maryland Genealogical Society and is the Secretary for the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society. She is the principal of Hoffman Genealogical Services.

 

Jewish and Non-Jewish Ancestry from Eastern and Central Europe
Lara Diamond

MARCH 23, SUNDAY, 3 pm

General Meeting: In Person
Presentation: In Person

Jewish-specific sites such as JewishGen, JRI-Poland and Gesher Galicia can be very powerful for genealogical research–including for those researching non-Jewish ancestry from Eastern and Central Europe.

Learn about the breadth and depth of information available on these sites and how they can aid in your research.

Lara Diamond
Lara began researching her own family around 1989. She has traced all branches of her family multiple generations back in Eastern Europe using Russian Empire-era and Austria-Hungarian Empire records. Most of her personal research is in modern-day Ukraine, with a smattering of Belarus and Poland. She has done client research leading to their ancestors in many parts of the former USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania and more. She is president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Maryland and is JewishGen’s Subcarpathia Research Director. She has lectured around the country and internationally on Jewish and Eastern European genealogy research as well as genetic genealogy. She also runs multiple district- and town-focused projects to collect documentation to assist all those researching ancestors from common towns. Lara blogs about her Eastern European and Jewish research at http://larasgenealogy.blogspot.com.

TBD

APRIL 27, SUNDAY, 3 pm

 

TBD

MAY 25, SUNDAY, 3 pm

 

Research Day

JUNE 22, SUNDAY, 12-4 pm

Everyone is invited to use all of the research assets of our Library from 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM.

  • We will be scanning Bibles and historical documents.
  • Bring in what you have and have it copied to digital media.
    Please bring a USB drive to make a copy of these scans.

 

 

Researching Revolutionary War Ancestors

TBD, SUNDAY, 3 pm

General Meeting: In Person
Presentation: In Person

Victoria Kinnear, a 13-year member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She is currently: the Maryland State Chair of the Literacy Promotion Committee, the founder of the Maryland State DAR Book Club, and the Vice Regent in the Col. John Streett Chapter. Victoria was also part of Maryland’s State Application Team and the America 250! Membership Task Force. She has also held numerous offices and leadership positions within the DAR organization.

Victoria has completed all of the education courses, as well as seven of the Daughters of the American Revolution application courses, and she has attended multiple DAR Genealogy Conferences. The research tips here will apply to documentation for both the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution.

Victoria has been a professional genealogist for several decades, and her work has included researching for Finding Your Roots, Genealogy Roadshow, Who Do You Think You Are?, and the Georgetown Reparation Project. In addition, she has done research for several books. She has also given multiple lectures on genealogy across the country.

Before becoming a genealogist, Victoria worked as the Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Marketing for a publishing company, and a Sony PlayStation development company, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation.

–* * * VIEW THE ARCHIVE OF PAST SPEAKERS * * *

(The image next to “Research Day” courtesy of http://www.vintagekin.com/)